A bright, sky-blue light burst forth from Jose's chest, right where his heart would be located. Every person in the room froze, staring at the chirping lightning extruding from Jose's torso. The guild master stared down at it as if it were some sort of extra appendage that had suddenly grown. He coughed, and blood spurted from his mouth.
The electricity began to die down, only to reveal a bare hand. It curled into a fist, and slowly retracted backwards from Jose. Said mage fell to his knees, eyes wide as saucers. Only seconds later, the light mage gone dark toppled to the floor dead. Standing behind him was a badly injured Kakashi. The only thing remaining of his shirt was a small portion near the bottom left hanging on by a thread. His jacket was completely obliterated. Most, if not all of the right side of his torso was badly burned, and his right arm was hanging limply at his side. His headband had been blown completely off, leaving his bangs to fall freely around his face. The most shocking thing, however, was the fact that his ever-present mask had been torn off completely, revealing his whole face.
Kakashi was panting heavily, and his eyes were half-lidded. Erza, along with the two other mages who were still conscious watched with wide eyes as his eyes shut completely, and he toppled over unconscious. The two dragon slayers soon followed suit and faded into sleep, however Erza managed to stay awake. She used her good arm to drag her powerless body over to where Kakashi lay on his back.
The once grand room was in shambles. Rubble lay everywhere, covering the surface of the majority of the room. The once rich, red carpet was now a dull maroon colour, having been covered in grime and dirt. Silence filled the space. Not sound could be heard.
She smiled serenely and took in his features. He really had it all. "Thank you..." She whispered, and pressed her lips to his forehead before drifting off into unconsciousness beside him.
With a swirl, the two masked beings Natsu had summoned were sucked into the Kamui dimension. He knew the war was over when he heard the sound of chirping birds. Kakashi never missed.
"So it's finally over..." Mavis said with a sigh behind Natsu. "Finally."
Natsu turned around and nodded. "Yep. Kakashi almost always uses that attack as a finisher." He explained.
Mavis tilted her head. "Huh?" She asked, confused.
Natsu smirked at her. "Did you hear that sound earlier?"
Mavis furrowed her eyebrows and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Birds, right?" She asked for confirmation.
"Mhm. There's only one jutsu in existence that makes that sound, one that Kakashi invented himself, and one that is near impossible to avoid." Natsu explained.
"Incredible! and you said Kakashi created it himself?" Mavis asked.
"That's correct. It's called the Raikiri, or lightning blade. It's an improved version of his original jutsu, called Chidori, or one thousand birds." Natsu said.
Mavis' eyes lit up. "Ah, so that explains the noise then. So what does it do?" She asked.
"To put it simply, it's a jab. But it's a jab like no other. Instead of raw power, the user of this jutsu must move at incredible speed, and focus chakra into the point of contact. If done right, the person's chakra will actually become visible, and give of the distinct noise from which the technique gets it's name." Said Natsu.
"Is it THAT rare for someone's chakra to become visible?" Mavis questioned.
Natsu nodded. "Incredibly so. Instead of using the chakra to create lightning, the chakra actually becomes visible to the naked eye naturally."
"Extraordinary..."
The next day, things had finally calmed down to a degree. Under the supervision of Magic Council representative Lahar, the rune knights questioned the prominent members of Fairy Tail, along with the Element Four of Phantom Lord. Luckily, the raw evidence was strong enough to overcome the Council's prejudice against Makarov, and Phantom Lord was disbanded for it's crimes.
At the Magic Council headquarters, there was a meeting taking place. Topic? The death of Wizard Saint Jose Porla at the hands of Kakashi Hatake of Fairy Tail. Normally, the demise of a Wizard Saint ranked wizard would cause a somewhat large commotion in the council, but never before had these circumstances befallen them. A wizard saint, declaring war against another guild, and being killed by a regular wizard.
"Not even officially recognized as S-Class!" Exclaimed a council member, brandishing Kakashi's guild file.
The Chairman ran his hand through his hair and grumbled. "Grr... how could a wizard saint be taken out by a simple guild mage?" He questioned. "Surely he had assistance from his fellow guild members?"
Councillor Siegrain let out a haughty snort. A knowing smirk smirk flitted across his tattooed face. "Oh ho! Look at this! All records show he did it by himself actually." He gave off a sarcastic look of being impressed.
A buxom young woman with deep purple hair, named Ultear, smirked alongside him. "Is that so? How interesting..." She said.
The other, more elderly council members growled at them. "This is no time for such childishness, Councilwoman Ultear, Councillor Siegrain! If the news that a Wizard Saint was bested by some run-of-the-mill mage, all hell could break loose! The Council's reputation will be ruined!" The Chairman exclaimed with an edge of anxiety.
"I wouldn't be so quick to label this 'Kakashi', a run-of-the-mill mage, Chairman." An short, old man named Yajima pointed out. "I'd think that overpowering a Wizard Saint would be enough to bring a person out of that category."
The Chairman rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Ugh... so what do you propose we do about it?"
Councillor Yajima rubbed his chin. "Hmm... well obviously we need to appoint a new Wizard Saint... what about that young requip wizard from Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet? People have been saying for years that her power rivals that of a Wizard Saint, and Jose was ranked last among the Wizard Saints."
Siegrain smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I second the notion." He declared. Ultear soon followed.
Another Councillor raised their hand to speak. "Why appoint Scarlet, when we can simply appoint Kakashi himself? He's already proven beyond a doubt that he's got the capabilities for it."
Yajima shook his head. "No. We don't know anything about this guy yet. He may be strong, but without the diplomatic and problem solving capabilities, you can't be a Saint. Just look at the Gildarts Clive case."
The Councillor nodded his head. "Yes, I suppose so. Very well then, I support the appointing of Erza Scarlet in replacement of Jose Porla."
The Chairman slammed his gavel down on the desk. "Enough of this talk! The selecting of a Wizard Saint is not a decision that must be rushed! We will all think on this matter over the coming week, and come to a decision a week today." The Chairman said. "Dismissed!"
It was the first time their table had all it's team members actually seated there, and the sight was truly something to behold.
At the head of the picnic table, Natsu and Mavis levitated, forgoing the use of chairs as usual. While Natsu sat in his classic cross legged posture, Mavis was much more casual, leaning back with her arms behind her head. The end of the table opposite to the pair was flush with the wall, so nobody could sit there.
On one lateral side of the table, Erza and Kakashi sat side by side. The pair of them could of looked better to say the least. Erza's entire right arm was covered in bandages all the way up to her shoulder. Kakashi's own wrappings covered the majority of his torso, only revealing his left shoulder and arm. The tape replaced his regular mask, and since he no longer had a headband, his bangs fell freely around his face.
Gray and Aki were sitting opposite Erza and Kakashi, with Happy cheerfully munching on a trout upon Aki's head. They looked a little worse for wear, but overall fine. The pair did seem to be sitting a little closer together though...
Only the two floating wizards were in normal health. Natsu scanned them over with his visible eye. "Heh, you guys look like crap." He taunted.
"Yeah? Well maybe if you helped us kick Jose's ass it would've gone differently!" Aki snapped.
Natsu sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Haha... perhaps..." He said.
Mavis shrugged with a wide grin on her face. "Besides, we were too busy fighting some jerk named Black Steel Gajeel, we couldn't have helped." She excused.
In his mind, Natsu's jaw dropped. The others ate up her answer without a second thought! He looked to his right at Mavis with narrowed eyes. So did she just forget to mention that we beat that guy before they were even fighting the element four? He looked over at the others again. Unbelievable.
He turned to the bar, and raised his hand to his mouth. "Hey Mira! Could I get a tuna poke salad and glass of orange juice please?!" He shouted.
Mira looked up from the bar and waved. "Coming right up!" She confirmed.
Natsu sighed and rested his head on his arms upon the table. "I'm starving, I haven't eaten since before we started fighting those shitty Phantom guys." He groaned.
Mavis looked around the table excitedly. "Wait, we do food now, too? When I was guild master we could only do drinks!" She asked.
"We only started serving food when Mira became the barkeep, so we got a kitchen installed since Mira decided she wanted to take up cooking." Gray explained.
Natsu grinned. "Great, huh? Kakashi and I only found out recently, since before we left Mirajane was still an active mage."
Mavis raised an eyebrow. "What made her change?" She asked.
Aki looked at her. "Basically, everyone thought her little sister died, but when Natsu came back, he proved that she's actually still alive. Just in a different dimension or something like that." She explained.
Mavis adopted a blank expression. "Ok, now I'm even more confused."
Natsu moved his head slightly to look at her. He waved her off. "Just forget it." He advised.
Suddenly, Natsu head shot up and he stared intently at the second floor loft. He began to grin. Mavis, being the only one not talking, was the only one to notice this strange behaviour. "Natsu?" She questioned.
Natsu rubbed his hands together. "Hehe... Laxus is back." He informed her.
Mavis tilted her head. "Laxus?"
"A guy I was friends with before Kakashi and I left. He's really strong, too. If I don't use chakra, he could actually go even with me." Natsu rubbed his chin. "Now that I think about it, maybe he would actually win against me now."
Mavis shrugged. "Huh. I couldn't even picture you losing a fight to be honest."
"Well, there's a first time for everything." He said, then leaned in close so he could whisper to her. "I'm gonna go scare him. This'll be HILARIOUS! Trust me." Natsu promised.
With that being said, Natsu slipped into the floor, disappearing from view. Mavis turned her head up to the second floor, to see if she could catch a glimpse of the upcoming event. She only had to wait a mere second.
"AH! WHAT THE HELL!?" A booming voice exclaimed from above.
A flash of yellow light flooded the room from the loft. *BOOM*. The guild went silent, watching the spectacle.
"YEEEEEOUUUUCH!" She head a drawn out yelp. It sounded suspiciously like Natsu. The people meandering around the guild hall tried to stifle laughs, but most were failing miserably.
Mavis sighed as the guild began to calm down and return to normal. Natsu was still not back, and he and whoever he said he was scaring were still not visible from where she was. What did he get himself into this time...
Natsu winced as he rubbed his forearm. "Why'd you have to go and do that? It stings." He complained.
A tall, muscular man in a purple, button up shirt turned around. The long, fur coat hanging off his shoulders fluttered back to it's neutral position. He sniffed. "It's your own damn fault for surprising me."
Natsu shot him a deadpan look. "Who the hell attacks as their first response to being attacked in their own guild hall?"
Laxus turned back around. "Whatever. At least one person in this blasted guild is strong." He walked up to the railing and leaned on it.
Natsu stepped forwards and joined him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Laxus swept his hand in a fanning motion in front of him. "Look at these fools. All of them are complete weaklings! How can Fairy Tail be a feared and respected guild when we have all these... these idiots!" He ranted.
Natsu fell silent for a moment as he looked over the members of Fairy Tail, simply enjoying the day. He sighed. "Well, you're probably the only person here who actually cares about that really. If you want to be part of a guild like you described, why not go join one?" Natsu questioned.
Laxus clenched his fists. "I... I... I don't know!" He exclaimed. "I just... I don't... I want to... I honestly don't know." He admitted.
Natsu shrugged. "Perhaps you should think on it more." He advised.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Laxus asked, but when he turned to look at the boy, he had simply vanished. When he peered over the railing, he saw Natsu back at his table as if he'd never left. Without another word, Laxus disappeared into a flash of lightning.
"So what was that?" Kakashi asked as soon as Natsu returned.
"Well, Laxus is back." Natsu explained. "And he's kind of an ass now, unfortunately."
Aki groaned and slammed her forehead on the table. "Eugh, don't get me started. He's totally insufferable now!" She groaned.
Gray sighed and leaned his face upon his palm. "Yep. Can't even talk to the damn guy anymore without him going onnnnn and onnnnnn about how weak we all are and how he should be guild master instead of gramps."
Mavis narrowed her eyes. "Who invited him in in the first place?" She asked. As the one who created the guild, she was appalled at the prospect of someone like Laxus being in her guild.
"He's the Master's grandson." Erza said simply. "Also, he used to be better, but ever since Master exiled his son, Ivan Dreyar, he's been kinda moody." She explained.
Mavis grew a solemn look at rubbed her chin. "That... complicates things..." She muttered, then sighed. "As long as he doesn't do anything rash, I suppose it's fine." She admitted.
Aki snorted, and a few licks of fire left her nostrils. "Yeah, well if that assho-" Suddenly, the light seemed to leave the room, and the guild hall was plunged into pitch black darkness. "AH!" Aki exclaimed. "Who the hell turned off the lights?!"
Quickly enough, the once loud members of the guild were quieted down to faint whispers and mutters. The more experienced and powerful wizards in the room were able to sense the magic lingering in the darkness. Concrete evidence that this was no ordinary phenomena, but something induced by a spell.
Gray and Aki stood up and went back to back immediately. Years of working together as a team allowed them to do this through pure muscle memory. They held up their fists in front of them, which in turn began to swirl with their respective magics. Happy huddled defensively on their shoulders.
Kakashi simultaneously activated his sharingan and instinctively moved his hand to where his pouch of ninja tools would be, even though he no longer needed a physical container for them. Old habits die hard, and Kakashi suspected he would never be able to drop it. He stepped behind Erza, as he knew that she wouldn't be able to see through the pitch black like he could.
Natsu wrapped his arms around Mavis and pulled her into his lap, which unbeknownst to him, caused her to display a faint blush. He activated his basic sharingan, allowing him to see through the dark and wrapped a protective bubble of cobalt sand around the pair of them. With a few quick hand seals, he deftly performed the summoning jutsu and brought forth the small form of Shukaku. All Tenuki have eyes able to see through darkness, which would be perfect in the situation he found himself in.
He heard the voice of his tenant in his head. "While I'm kinda miffed that you didn't summon me to meet Mavis, OR for the fight against Phantom, I suppose you could use some help here." Shukaku said and walked straight through the sphere of metal dust they were surrounded in.
"Just hurry up and tell me what the hell is going on out there!" Natsu hissed.
Shukaku looked around with his star-shaped irises. "Well, actually I can't really see anything right now... Oh! Hold on, there's some big looking guy standing in front of Kakashi... holy shit he has a metal jaw; that's intense. There's also... HEY! What the- SOMEONE'S GRABBING ME!"
Natsu furrowed his eyebrows. What? He thought in disbelief. Suddenly, the darkness abruptly faded, flooding the guild with light once again. Natsu released his bubble of cobalt, revealing to him four figures standing in the doorway of the guild hall. Erza gasped in shock.
The first one was a beast of man, standing at over six foot five, and having almost three feet from shoulder to shoulder. He wore a simple robe, turban, and strangely enough, a metal face plate only covering his jaw. The man's left eye was covered by a black eye patch. His tone was completely serious; deadpan.
The very polygonal man standing next to him was made completely of blocks, although it seemed as though there was a navy blue suit painted onto him. He wore a rounded bowler hat, strange glasses, and had a cream-colored scarf hanging around his neck. A knowing smirk was grafted across his blocky head.
The girl standing next to him had very cat-like features, even going as far as to shape her hair into pointed ears on the top of her head and paint whiskers on her cheeks. She had a wide smile upon her face, and cheerful eyes. Most importantly though, she had Happy and Shukaku wrapped up in a hug. The pair did NOT look like they were enjoying themselves, to say the least.
The last person had blond hair in a spiky manner and a darker skin tone. He had a crooked grin, and was absent mindedly shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. Could that be a part of his magic?
Aki blinked. She looked at the space between her and Gray, then at the cat lady. "Oi! Give back Happy you creep!" She shouted angrily. Then she saw what else the person held in her arms. "And hey, isn't that a smaller version of Natsu's transformation thing?" She whispered to Gray.
Gray peered at it, then raised his hand to his mouth, cupped. "Yeah, I think so." He responded. Aki shrugged. "Weird."
Erza spoke up in a shaky voice. "S-Simon? Wally? Milliana? and... Sho?" She questioned. "You can use magic now?"
Sho smirked. "Yep, it's not too hard, really." He answered cockily. Simon stepped forward. "Erza. We've come to take to back to the Tower of Heaven."
At the mere mention of the name, Erza's eyes widened and she flinched, taking a step backwards. All of a sudden, Aki burst out laughing, doubling over and clenching her stomach with her hand. Wally tilted his head at her. "What's so funny? You're not dandy at all." He said.
Simon sharply turned his eyes and stared at the blocky man. He gave him the evil eye. "Be quiet, Wally. We do NOT want a fight here." On que, Milliana let go of the two creatures she was holding on to. Shukaku simply disappeared into a poof of smoke, and Happy flew back to Aki.
Aki's laughter slowly died down, and she lifted her head to respond, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Oh, nothing. It's just that you guys somehow think that you can take one of our strongest mages, while ALL of us are in the room, including gramps, who happens to be a Wizard Saint." She pointed out. Sure enough, Makarov was sitting on the railing of the second floor loft, drinking from a wooden mug. He looked casual as ever. At the mention of his name, he lazily waved.
Sho smiled knowingly. "Heh. We don't need to take her by force... she'll come." He said. Reaching his hand back into his pocket, he pulled out a light blue lacrima and crushed it. The four aggressors began to disappear into white light. Milliana grinned cheekily and waved. "Bye bye Erzy!" She taunted.
Natsu reached forward, prompting his sand to shoot out and attempt to grab them, but they were already gone. He grit his teeth and slowly let his arm drop, and his sand followed suit and gradually flowed back into the gourd.
Silence. Everyone in the hall was staring at Erza, unblinking and unmoving. She shifted around uncomfortably and let her eyes dart around nervously. She didn't look like herself in the slightest, and subconsciously began to rub her arms anxiously.
Mavis recognized the situation. "Alriiiiight..." She broke the silence. "Let's go someplace else, shall we?" She prompted.
Kakashi stood up and patted Erza's shoulder, which seemed to snap her out of her stupor. She stood up beside him, and the pair walked out the main doors. Gray and Aki shrugged and followed, with Happy flying close behind.
Mavis looked behind her and over Natsu's shoulder, still sitting upon his lap. "Not a word of this to anyone, folks!" She called out to them all. With that said, Natsu floated out of the guild hall, carrying Mavis along with him.
The group of seven decided to meet at Aki and Happy's home, seeing as how it's the most out of the way place, not including Mavis and Natsu's. The five of them were huddled around a glass coffee table between two sofas. Aki's house was actually decently nice, not a complete mess like you'd might expect from someone like Aki.
Although the exterior of her cabin was just that, a small-looking log cabin, the interior was fairly modern, sporting a tile-counter kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a hallway leading to a bedroom and a bathroom, and of course the living room which they currently resided. The natural light provided by the large windows made the room feel like it had more room.
Seated upon the two couches, they all stared intently at Erza. "So." Kakashi began. "What was that about?" He asked.
Erza looked down. "It all started when I was-" She started, but was cut off by the door creaking open, revealing Natsu and Mavis.
Mavis was still sitting on Natsu instead of floating by herself. She had her legs hanging down over his crossed legs and her head resting on his shoulder. Her hands were folded on her lap. Natsu was forced into the awkward position of having to lean his head to the right or left just to see where he was going.
With a struggle, Natsu glided over to the coffe table. He saw the rest of them staring, and only held up a hand. "Don't ask." He said.
"As I was saying, this whole mess started when I was just a little girl..." Erza repeated. She proceeded to explain her time at the Tower of Heaven, including her old friends, her replaced eye, and their not-so-successful escape with Jellal and the others. By the end of her tale, the six others around her were looking down with solemn expressions.
"Which is why I have to face him, alone." Erza concluded. The rest of her team's heads snapped up and stared at her.
"What?! You can't be serious!" Kakashi exclaimed in an uncharacteristic outburst.
Erza nodded her head. "I am, and nothing is going to change my mind on this."
Mavis leaned forwards. "With all due respect, Erza, this is an incredibly... unwise decision." She advised.
Erza looked to the side. "This is just something I have to do on my own. I've been struggling with my past for my entire life. It's time to face it head on." She told them. "Besides, Jellal threatened to kill every last person in that tower If I brought someone else with me... "
Aki jumped to her feet with her fist aflame. "What the hell, Erza! Do you really believe in that guy's power against all of ours?" She questioned.
"I don't know." Erza said quietly. But it looked like she wanted to say yes. "It's just that... a small part of me believes that If I beat him, he'll go back to how he was before." She admitted.
Kakashi stared at her. "What about us, Erza? Do you really think we'll just let you go walk into a suicide trap alone?" He asked her.
Erza stared back at him. "Frankly, it's none of your business, Kakashi." She replied.
Kakashi's eyes widened briefly. Visions of Obito's body crushed under a rock, Rin's dead eyes staring back at him in the rain, and Minato's body with a plate-sized hole through it ran through his mind.
Kakashi grit his teeth and scowled. He stood up abruptly and walked towards the door. "Fine then, go run into a death trap. See if I care." He said coldly, and opened the door. He muttered under his breath, "Anybody close to Friend-Killer Kakashi dies in the end anyways." He walked out the door, and slammed it behind him, leaving the rest of the group in stunned silence.
"Natsu." Aki said in a quiet tone, breaking the silence. Natsu turned his head to look at her.
"Yeah?" He replied. Nobody really wanted to talk about what just happened.
Aki looked him dead in the eyes. "What did he mean by that last sentence? Why did he call himself Friend-Killer Kakashi?" She asked.
Natsu sighed. "You have to remember, Aki, you have the best senses out of anyone here. You were the only one who was able to actually hear that." He told her. "As for your question..." He trailed off.
"I don't remember too well, but I'm pretty sure he was awarded that nickname because he was the most ruthless ANBU Black Ops member Konoha had ever seen." He answered. "He was rumored to have even killed his own team member to complete a mission if I'm not mistaken."
Erza stared in shock. "What?! But that's not like him at all... He wouldn't... he just... wouldn't." She said shakily.
Natsu shrugged. "I know. Something changed him down the line somewhere. I don't really know much since I'm from a different village."
They sat in silence for a few more moments, before Erza stood up and marched to the door. "What are you doing?" Gray asked. All of them turned to await her response.
Erza put her hands on the doorknob. "I'm going to face Jellal." And she opened the door and walked out, leaving it to shut in her wake.
The remaining people in the home turned back to each other. "So." Gray said. Aki finished the question for him.
"What are we going to do?"
